Automatic gas shut-off for cylinder-presses.



R. A. KERLEY.

AUTOMATIC GAS SHUT-OFF FOR CYLINDER PRESSES.

APPLICATION FILED JAN- ZI, I9I8.

1 267,420.. Patented May 28, 1918,.

IN VEN TOR: fiflYMmw/Z KEELE WM. My

ATTORNEYS.

WI T N ESS ES:

RAYMOND A. KEELEY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

AUTOMATIC GAS SHUT-OFF FOR CYLINDER-PRESSES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 28, 1918.

Application filed January 21, 1918. Serial No. 213,105.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, RAYMOND A. KnRLnY, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Automatic Gas Shut-Offs for Cylinder-Presses, and I do hereby declare that the following description of my said invention, taken in connection with the accompanying sheet of drawing, forms a full, clear, and exact specification, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates generally to improvements in automatic gas shut-off for cylinder presses; and it consists, essentially, in the novel and peculiar combination of parts and details of construction, as hereinafter first fully set forth and described and then pointed out in the claims.

The object of this invention is the prevention of printed sheets of paper from catching fire when leaving the cylinder of a printing press after having received their impressions. It is a well-known fact that printing paper after passing through a printing press, especially the present highspeed rotary cylinder presses, becomes charged with static electricity which interferes with the proper handling and manipulation of the sheets. To overcome this objection, it is now quite prevalent to heat the sheets after leaving the cylinder to neutralize the electric charge, generally with a multiplicity of gas jets moving over the paper a suflicient distance therefrom to afford a heated zone, but to prevent the paper from being scorched or burnt. This means is especially used in cylinder presses wherein the printed sheets are jogged by mechanism which stacks the sheets, and wherein a gas burner having a large number of jets moves over the stacked sheets to neutralize the electric charge. This is not, however, possible in that style of cylinder presses wherein the sheets are stacked by the socalled flies. It has been proposed to remove the electric condition of these sheets by a gas burner such as mentioned, immediately after leaving the cylinder, which construc tion accomplishes the desired result quite satisfactorily, but has the disadvantage that if a sheet should happen to be buckled or crumpled at its advancing margin, it will be almost invariably ignited by the burner and thus be liable to cause serious conflagrations.

It is the object of my invention to avoid this latter drawback by means whereby a sheet that is buckled or distorted will automatically extinguish the gas jets before the sheet reaches the same. This invention includes a novel mechanism, as shown in the drawings, in which Figure 1 is an elevation of a fragment of a cylinder printing press supplied with the described gas-heating device and my automatically-operating mechanism for extinguishing the gas jets. Fig. 2 is an elevation of the latter mechanism detached. Fig. 3 is a sectional view on line 3-3 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a side view of the bracket employed in this device. Fig. 5 is an edge view of the same. Fig. 6 is an elevation of one of the vanes; and Fig. 7 is an edge view of the same.

Like parts are designated by the same characters and symbols of reference in all the figures.

In order to thoroughly understand the position and operation of this device, I shall briefly describe those portions of a cylinder press which are more or less di rectly involved in this invention.

A designates one of the housings within which the cylinder B is rotatably mounted. There are two of these housings in spaced relationship, and each has mechanism including members C, provided with a series of bearings of which the bearing 12 supports a rotatable shaft 13, on which the usual pulleys or rollers, not shown, are mounted for 'the reception of the tapes 14. There are likewise connected with the housings goosenecks 15, the free ends of which are provided with bearings 16, which carry a tubu lar gas burner 17. In the members G, and spaced from the bearings 12 there are further bearings 18, in which there is mounted a shaft 19, to which the usual stripping fingers are attached that guide the printed sheet from the cylinder to the tapes 14. It is, preferably, upon this shaft that I mount my device, which includesa series of brackets 20, shown in detail in Figs. 4 and 5, co1nprising a goose-neck portion 21, and a shank or bar 22, punctured at its end as at 23; there being in the goose-neck portion of the bracket 20 a set screw 24, by which the bracket 20 is adjustably and removably secured to the shaft 19.

In the bearings 23 there is rotatably mounted a shaft 25; and upon this shaft there are fixed a multiplicity of vanes 26, Fig. 1, consisting each, as illustrated in detail in Figs. 6 and 7, of a preferably square head-piece 27, punctured, as at 28, to rec ei the shaft 25, and provided with a setscrew 29,1561 rem'ovably and adjustably securing the vanes 26 t0 the shaft 25. The

end of the head-piece 27 is tapered and slotted, as at 30, Figs. 3, and 7, and in this slot there is secured a thin sheet-metal plate .31, preferably of rectangular contour, the lower edge of which, when properly adjusted, will be in close proximity to the printed sheet as it issues from the cylinder B. At one end, the shaft 25 carries'an arm 32, and the burner-tube 17 has a gas supply-pipe 33, provided with a stop-cock 84, the plug of Which is supplied with an arm 36, which latter arm is connected to the arm 32 on shaft 25 by a link, but preferably by a flexible cord 37, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 1. This Stop-cock is normally open when the machine is in operation, and the jets 35 of the burner heat the sheets passing underneath the same so asto neutralize the electric charge. But should, for any reason, an issuing sheet buckle at its advancing margin, this margin will strike the plates 31, and rotating the same, c ose the stop-cock 34L to shut off the supply of gas to extinguish the jets 35 so that the printed sheet cannot catch fire and thereby avoid a probable, and possibly serious, conflagration. 9f course, should this accident occur, the press is stopped, the wrinkled sheet removed, and the gas again turned on and the jets relighted so that the operation of the. press may continue.

I have shown the application of this invention to a so-calledlvliehle high-speed, twoj'evolution, printing press; but it is obvious that this invention is capable of being applied to nearly, if not all, of the various cylinder presses now in use, the object being'to interpose between the cylinder and the sheet-heating medium a movable abut-' ment or device which, when a crumpled sheet issues from the cylinder, will be operated by said sheet to automatically shut on? the gas supply and thereby extinguish the heating jets.

While the device disclosed embodies the preferred'form of my invention, it is obvious,,and I desire it to be so understood, that changes therein, and modifications thereof, may be resorted to without departing from the scope of my invention as defined in the subjoined claims Having thusfully described this invention, I'claim as new, a'nddesire to secure tomyself by Letters Patent of the United States- 1. In a cylinder printing press, a rotatable cylinder, a gas burner located adj acent said cylinder above the line of movement of a sheet issuing from said cylinder, a stop cock for regulating the supply of gas to said burner, and a movable abutment interposed between said cylinder and said gas burner and in close adjacency to said issuing sheet, saidmov'able abutment being connected to said stop cock to turn off the gas supply when said abutment is moved by said issuing sheet- 2. In a cylinder printing press, a rotating cylinder, a gas burner located adj-acently of the cylinder and above the line of travel of a sheet issuing from said cylinder, a stop cock for regulating the supply of gas .to said burner, and an oscillatable abutment interposed between said cylinder and said gas burner, said oscillatable abutment being con nected to said stop cock by a flexible" connection. 3. In a cylinder printing press, a gas burner for heating sheets of paper issuing from said cylinder, a stop cock connected to said burner, and automatically operating means connected to said stop cock for shutting off the gas supply when actuated by said issuing sheet.

l. In a cylinder printing press, a rotatable cylinder, a gas burner located in front of said cylinder above the line of travel of a sheet of paper issuing from said cylinder, a stop cock for regulating the supply of gas to said burner, an oscillatable shaft located between said cylinder and said burner, a series of depending vanes secured to said shaft, the lower margins of said vanes being in close proximity to the line of movement of a sheet issuing from said cylinder, an arm on said shaft, and a flexible connection between said arm and said stop cock for shutting otf the supply of gas to said burner when said shait is being oscillated.

5. In a cylinder printing press, the combination, of a rotatable cylinder, a gas burner for heating sheets issuing from saidcylinder, a stop cock connected to'said burner, a shaft rotatably mounted between said cylinder and said burner, a series of vanes mounted on said shaft, the lower edges of said vanes being in close proximity of the lineof travel of sheet of paper issuing from said cylinder, and a flexible connection between said shaft and said stop cock for shutting oii?- the gas supply when saidvanes are moved by said issuing sheet.

6. In a cylinder printing press, a rotatable cylinder, a gas burner for heating sheets issuing from said cylinder, a stop cock connected to said gas burner for shutting ofi the supply of gas to saidburner, and means for operating the said stop cock when a buckled o1 sheet, an arm on said shaft, an zirm on said stop cock, and a flexible element connecting the two arms.

7 In a cylinder printing press, a rotatable cylinder, a gas burner for heating sheets of paper issuing from said cylinder, a stop cock connected to said burner, and means for shutting ofi' the supply of gas to said burner, said means including a shaft, gooseneck brackets adjustably and reniovably secured to said shaft, said brackets having punctured shanks,

a second shaft rotatably mounted in said shanks, a series of heads mounted on the second shaft, plates secured to said heads the lower margins of said plates being in close 15 adjacency to the line of movement of said sheet, an arm on the second shaft, an arm on said stop cock, and a flexible cord connecting the two arms.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as 20 my invention, I have hereunto set my hand.

RAYMOND A. KEELEY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0. 

